Denial
by Luna Darkside
Summary: Shinichi hates Kaito. Like, really, really, really hates Kaito. Seriously. He hates Kaito. Completely. So there's no way they're a couple. Or in love. Or anything like that. So why is everyone (and everything) saying otherwise? /ShinKai, oneshot, complete/


_Because denial fics are always a ton of fun. _

_...Well, I like reading them, at least._

_Let's see… warnings… Shounen-ai. Maybe some grammar issues because it's, like, three in the morning right now. And then… probably some non-canonical information. Because yeah, I'm just a fail like that._

_Anyway, enjoy! - Luna_

**Denial**

"Excuse me?"

Kudou Shinichi stared at his childhood friend, eyes wide as he gaped at her. "Repeat what you just said," he demanded disbelievingly.

Mouri Ran, who was sitting across from him, tea in hand and a distinctly evil look in her eye, complied innocently. "Don't worry, I don't mind if you are Kuroba-kun are together," she enunciated carefully, sipping her tea in triumph as Shinichi's jaw dropped even farther.

If that was possible.

"Wait, hold on a second. _What?_"

Ran heaved a sigh, setting down her mug elegantly. "Shinichi, you've made me repeat myself at least twelve times by now." She batted her eyelashes, looking about as innocent as a cupcake.

A poisoned cupcake, that is.

Because seriously. There was _definitely_ a sadistic twist to her smile.

Shinichi shifted uncomfortably. "Uh, because you just suggested that I am in a relationship with one of my friends? Who happens to be the same gender as me?" His voice seemed to rise in pitch as he neared the end of his second sentence.

His childhood friend only continued with her infuriatingly pleasant smile. "Oh come on, Shinichi. It's obvious to anyone with eyes. And I bet even a blind person could tell." Ran's eyes narrowed wickedly. "You two are _so _in love."

Somehow feeling concerned as to whether or not he'd actually managed to tie his tongue into a knot, Shinichi only managed a weak wheeze.

Lifting her mug to her lips, Ran only hid a grin. "Come on. You two are so obvious about it. You go to Kid heists even though you never did before you met Kuroba-kun."

Having untangled his tongue from his esophagus, Shinichi began a heated "That was…" before cutting himself off abruptly. He couldn't actually tell Ran that he'd been going for a while, since, you know, he was actually Edogawa Conan and all that…

Only casting him a sidelong glance, Ran continued on, stirring her tea with one hand. "And you actually transferred all the way to Ekoda, abandoning everyone at Teitan…"

"That was because we broke up and I thought you were going to decapitate me every time you saw me," grumbled Shinichi under his breath.

Shooting him a warning glance that made Shinichi go rigid, Ran stopped to think for a second. "Hmm… you made him Valentine's Day chocolates last year…"

"Those were obligatory!"

Ran leveled him with a glare. "You didn't give _me _any."

"I thought Hondou might take that the wrong way. You know, considering he's your current boyfriend and I'm your ex," explained Shinichi, now feeling somewhat nettled. "It's not because I'm in love with Kaito!"

"Which leads me to my next point – you call him Kaito. No honorifics, not 'Kuroba,' not something insulting," Ran steamrolled blatantly, smirking at the way Shinichi was now gritting his teeth.

"I call you by your name too," Shinichi scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"We've known each other since we were, what, five? You've known Kuroba-kun since senior year of high school, so… two years? And if I recall correctly, you've been calling him 'Kaito' since – at _most_ – a month after you met him."

Shinichi opened his mouth before shutting it because damn it, she was actually right. But it didn't _mean _anything, really! Kaito was just friendly enough to address people by their first names!

…Or something. Because didn't he address Hakuba as "Hakuba" and Ran as "Mouri-chan"…?

Whatever. _So _not the point.

Ran seemed to be watching Shinichi's apparently very apparent inner turmoil as her lips curled up. "Face it, Shinichi, you're in love with him," she sang.

Finding he had no retort, Shinichi bit his tongue as Ran shot him one last condescending grin and went back to her tea calmly.

* * *

"Shinichi-oniisan!"

Halfway down the mildly busy sidewalk, Shinichi paused at the familiar voice. Wasn't that…

He turned to find the familiar shapes of Yoshida Ayumi, Kojima Genta, Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko, and Haibara Ai bounding (well, Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko bounded; Haibara walked slowly behind them) towards him.

"Oh! If it isn't the Detective Boys!" Shinichi called, smiling fondly. Ever since "Conan" had left with his parents, he'd begun spending time with the Detective Boys as Shinichi. He couldn't help it. As obnoxious as they could be sometimes, he had grown to care for each of them.

"So, so, Shinichi-oniisan, do you have any cases for us?" Ayumi asked brightly, bouncing up and down enthusiastically. "We can solve them! All of them, no matter how hard!"

Shinichi laughed, glancing over at Haibara, who was staring at him with a vaguely sardonic smirk on her face. He scowled and returned his attention to the three actual children.

"Not today, you guys. But we can go visit Kaito – I mean, Kaito-niichan if you'd like," he offered, smiling as the three faces lit up.

Kaito had recently begun performing magic shows in various parks around Ekoda and Beika. When Shinichi had met this concept with raised eyebrows and a questioning look, Kaito had explained, "Well, how else am I going to a reputation? I want to be on the stage one day, y'know, but I've got to start somewhere."

After that, Shinichi attended Kaito's magic shows whenever possible. He wanted to support him, after all, and it wasn't like Kaito's magic was _boring_. The complete opposite, really. No two shows were the same, and Shinichi _still _hadn't figured out some of Kaito's tricks. Which both irritated him and pleased him simultaneously.

"Really, Shinichi-san? Kaito-san has a show today?" Mitsuhiko inquired, and Shinichi nodded.

"You would know, wouldn't you, Kudou-kun?" muttered Haibara, her smirk only growing at the annoyed glance Shinichi flashed her.

Turning back to the other children, Shinichi told them, "He told me that it's at the park near your school, actually. I was on my way there right now. Want to come?"

"Of course we do," Genta sniffed. "Kaito-oniichan's shows are so good even _you _can't figure them out."

Bristling slightly, Shinichi only nodded, allowing himself to be surrounded by the children. They set off down the sidewalk at a slow pace, and Shinichi ignored the strange looks he was eliciting.

Because okay, maybe he kind of looked like a pedophile, what with having four kids trailing after him… but he _wasn't_, dammit.

"Do you go to all of Kaito-oniisan's shows?" Ayumi suddenly asked curiously, looking up at Shinichi as he trotted along beside him.

"Almost all of them. When I've got a case, I call ahead and tell him I won't be around," Shinichi explained. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I was just wondering how people in love act, is all," Ayumi chirped.

Shinichi choked and stopped dead in the middle of the sidewalk, causing Genta, who was walking behind him, to smack into his legs.

The heavy boy stepped back with a huff, annoyed. "What was that for, Shinichi-oniichan?"

Ignoring him, Shinchi stammered, "A-Ah, Ayumi? Did you just say that _I'm in love_?" as he fought to keep a smile on his face while looking down at the girl.

He swore Haibara hid a malicious snicker. Damn her.

Ayumi blinked up at him. "Isn't that right? Aren't you and Kaito-oniisan in love?" She looked over at Mitsuhiko and Genta as if asking for backup. "Isn't that right, guys?"

Mitsuhiko nodded knowingly. "Of course they are! Why else would Shinichi-san go to almost all of Kaito-san's shows and bother to actually call ahead when he can't show up?"

"No! Not – we're just _friends_," disagreed Shinichi, and this time Haibara actually did snigger.

"Just friends? Really, Kudou-kun?" she sang deviously, eyes flashing evilly. "Do you go to all of Hattori-kun's kendo matches?"

"Those aren't held around here! I'd have to go to Osaka!" argued Shinichi.

"But sometimes Kuroba-kun's shows are in Ekoda, right? That's a bit far, isn't it?" Haibara's smirk grew exponentially.

"What's wrong with you, Shinichi-oniichan? You don't have to deny it around us. At first we _did _think it was weird for two guys to be together, but this is the twenty-first century. We can handle it," Genta interjected in a rare moment of maturity. Shinichi gawped.

"But – we're – it's not – we're –"

His phone chose that moment to begin ringing, and Shinichi quickly answered it. "Hello?" he said breathlessly, hoping for some kind of distraction from the unfortunate topic (because _damn it_, he and Kaito were _not _a couple, and they were _not _in love!).

"Shinichi? Are you coming today or has something happened? Do you need help? Should I go find you? Are you okay?" came Kaito's anxious voice – unfortunately loud enough for the Detective Boys to hear – and Shinichi resisted the urge to dissolve into a mass of stammers as the children all presented him with smug smiles.

The universe clearly hated him.

* * *

Shinichi was sitting by himself in his criminal psychology class, bleary eyes scanning the open textbook before him in preparation for the imminent exam, when he felt a light tap on his shoulder and a familiar voice hesitantly calling, "Kudou-kun?"

Unbending his neck, Shinichi directed his gaze at the half-English man standing awkwardly beside his chair. He lifted an eyebrow critically. "Yes, Hakuba?" he croaked, voice scratchy.

Ugh. Shinichi rubbed his eyes sleepily, clearing his throat. How could Hakuba stand there with his goddamn _shirt_ pressed when Shinichi had crashed on his bed at one that morning and now could barely keep his eyes open? Both of them had gone to Kid's heist last night.

…Well, he supposed Hakuba hadn't spent three extra hours talking to Kid – Kaito – on the rooftop after the task force had cleared out.

"Are you… all right?" his fellow detective, Hakuba Saguru, asked, quirking an eyebrow. "You look a bit… exhausted."

"What else is new? Damn Kid," coughed Shinichi, scrubbing at his throat with the pads of his fingers. He needed coffee. Or something caffeinated, at least. "Anyway, what did you want?"

"Oh. That." Hakuba shifted. "You know how Kuroba-kun's birthday is coming up?"

"Mmm," grunted Shinichi noncommittally, wondering where this was going.

Ignoring the sound, Hakuba queried, "What day is it?"

Shinichi spent a few seconds staring at him. "Isn't your girlfriend Nakamori-chan?" he finally asked, blinking.

"Yes, Aoko-kun is my girlfriend." Hakuba looked vaguely puzzled. "Why?"

"I was just confirming. Because Nakamori-chan is, in fact, Kaito's childhood friend and therefore can supply you with this information," Shinichi explained, eyebrow arching higher up his forehead.

"Oh. That. Well, I kind of don't want her to know I'm doing anything for his birthday, since I want to show her that I can get along with Kuroba-kun. She's never been happy that we fight so much, and I thought this might be a good way to show that I don't actually hate him. You know." Hakuba smiled hopefully. "So can you tell me?"

"Uh, sure," Shinichi shrugged. "But I'm afraid you're out of luck for a few months. His birthday is the twenty-first of June."

"Really?" Hakuba let out a loud sigh. "And here I was planning for it…" He paused for a second. "Um… do you know what Kuroba-kun's favorite color is? I might as well try to think of something to get for him."

"Last time I checked, I think it was blue. Specifically 'azure,' I believe."

"Hm. What would you get him?"

Exhaling, Shinichi thought for a second. "If it's coming from you, it's best to make it something lighthearted and simple. Nothing too deep or personal, otherwise Kaito might think you've gone off the deep end. So I'd suggest something like a new deck of cards or maybe something edible."

"Ah. I see." Hakuba nodded.

Shinichi glanced at the blond detective suspiciously as a thought occurred to him. "Wait, why did you ask _me_? You could've deduced this kind of thing easily enough."

Hakuba cast him an incredulous glance. "It wasn't obvious? I'm asking you because you two are going out."

At the scandalized expression that overtook Shinichi's face, Hakuba tacked on a quick, "Wait, was I wrong?"

Staring at him, Shinichi only groaned and smashed his head into his desk, the other detective watching him with bewilderment and slight concern.

Not him too.

* * *

Shinichi stepped into Poirot, humming a painful tune under his breath as he scanned the neat rows of tables and chairs. It looked like Hattori still hadn't arrived…

"Kudou-kun?" Shinichi started and peered over his left shoulder to find Enomoto Azusa hovering by him, dressed in an apron and a bright smile.

"Oh, Azusa-san," Shinichi greeted, bowing respectfully. Azusa nodded back.

"Are you looking for Kuroba-kun?" she inquired, beaming at him.

"Not today, no," replied Shinichi with an apologetic shake of the head. "I'm meeting Hattori here. Do you remember him?"

Azusa bobbed her head, though she looked mildly unhappy. "And I set up a table for you two and everything…" she sighed, eyes sliding over to a secluded table in the far corner.

Shinichi followed her gaze.

And promptly died.

The table had been covered in a tablecloth – which was already rather surprising for a café like Poirot – but the fact that the tablecloth was pink and edged with red lace, along with the realization that there was a candle and vase of roses set in the center, caused Shinichi's brain to stop working entirely.

Clearing his throat once he'd detached his chin from the ground, Shinichi turned to paste on a smile at Azusa.

"What…" He cleared his throat harshly and continued on in a hoarse whisper. "What, exactly, is that?"

The waitress blinked at him innocently. "I just wanted to make the atmosphere more romantic for you and Kuroba-kun. Everyone around here, even the owner, supports you two, by the way." She flashed a cheery grin. "That table's been set up and reserved for the past couple of days, in case you guys came in."

Shinichi could only gape at her.

What the hell.

_What the hell._

They were insane. That was it.

He was about to back out of the café when he bumped into someone behind him. Whirling around with a hunted expression, Shinichi found himself face-to-face with his oblivious best friend.

Hattori Heiji stared at the somewhat crazed man in front of him. "Uh, hi, Kudou…?" he drawled in his familiar Kansai-ben, eyebrows slowly drawing together. "You okay, there?"

"Hattori." Shinichi was breathing hard. "We _cannot _stay here. They're not normal."

"…You're scaring me, Kudou. C'mon. Move." Hattori shoved his friend none too gently past a confused Azusa, tossing him into a chair at the nearest two-seater.

He observed the shuddering, wide-eyed Great Detective of the East cautiously. "Uh, Kudou…? Could you blink, please?" Hattori requested, mentally wondering when and why Shinichi had lost it. Too many murder cases, perhaps? The guy really needed to take the occasional break…

Shinichi seemed to break himself out of his trance. "Hattori. _They're insane_," he hissed, glancing furtively over his shoulder at Azusa.

"Who? And why?"

"_They set up a table. With a tablecloth. And a candle. And roses_." Shinichi's voice was a low screech by the time he reached "roses."

Unsure of how exactly he should be responding, Hattori nodded, patting Shinichi's hand reassuringly. "Um, sure. Now let's calm down and order something, shall we?"

Appearing to compose himself, Shinichi gave a slow nod, lifting a hand to weakly flag down Azusa, who hurried over with a frown marring her pretty face.

"Was it something I said, Kudou-kun?" she asked, brow scrunched. "I'm sorry, really."

"It's nothing," Shinichi managed, looking pale. "I'll take black coffee, thanks." He needed coffee. A lot of it.

Hattori ordered, and Azusa left, looking bemused, before Hattori refocused his attention on Shinichi. "What the hell was that all about, Kudou?" he asked.

"They – they actually set up a special table for Kaito and me. With a pink tablecloth and a candle and roses," informed Shinichi, still a ghostly white. "Because they _support _us."

…_Wait, "us"? There _is_ no "us"!_

Shinichi resisted the growing urge to give himself a concussion.

Meanwhile, Hattori's perplexity only seemed to grow. "I suppose that's nice of them and all, but it's nothing to go into a coma over…"

"Huh?" Shinichi snapped his attention to the tan detective across from him. "Did you just say that's _nice_?"

"Yes," Hattori affirmed. "I mean, it's nice that they show their support for a – _couple _like you two."

"Wait, _what_?"

Hattori nodded slowly, as if Shinichi was the one who was wrong. "You're going out with that Kuroba guy, right? I heard from Kazuha, who heard from Ran." He leaned forward and added conspiratorially, "Kudou, I didn't know you swing that way."

Shinichi was going to need a _lot _of coffee.

That or something stronger.

* * *

"Haibara."

Haibara glanced up at the man on her bed over the top of her computer screen. "What, Kudou-kun?" she asked in a dismissive tone. "I've already told you no at least thirty times today. You're not to leave bed."

Shinichi shot Haibara a sharp glare, frustrated. "Haibara, let me go," he demanded lowly, jaw clenched tight. "I'm completely fine."

The shrunken scientist met his gaze with equal irritation, folding her arms across her chest with a heavy sigh. "And I'm reminding you, Kudou-kun, that the only reason you were discharged from the hospital a week early was because you were making such a fuss about wanting to catch the murderer."

She paused for emphasis. "The one who _shot you in the stomach_, in case you forgot."

Shinichi's glare intensified. "I've been shot in the stomach before, you know, and –"

"You're not supposed to be moving just yet. And if you've forgotten, you're staying here, at the professor's place, so we can make sure you don't run off. So if you try to move, I will stop you. Forcibly, if necessary," Haibara cut in, her voice clipped and frigid. "And anyway, division one, Hattori-kun, Sera-san, _and _Hakuba-kun are all on the case now. The murderer's going to get caught, even if you don't help."

"I know, but still, Haibara –" started Shinichi hotly, ignoring the icy look Haibara shot him.

The brunette girl narrowed her eyes. "Do you _want _me to sedate you?"

The bedridden detective looked ready to debate the point further when across the room, on the kitchen counter, Shinichi's phone beeped loudly, drawing their attention.

Haibara stood up, walked over, and picked it up. "You've got a text from Kuroba-kun," she informed him, and Shinichi nodded, accepting it as she handed it to him.

He scowled and bit his lip exasperatedly as he read the text.

_How are you holding up, Shinichi?_

Glancing up to find Haibara scrutinizing him carefully, a sly half-smile on her face, Shinichi replied, _I'm perfectly fine. Haibara won't let me leave, though._

The response was nearly instantaneous. _Good. Don't get up. It's only been, what, two days since you were shot?_

_Well, yes. But I've gone through worse._

_Shinichi. DON'T GET UP. Hakuba, Hattori, Sera-chan, and the police are on this case. You can sit it out. _

There were a few blank lines and then:

_Do it for me._

Shinichi glared at the screen before tossing his phone onto the bedside table. "Fine. I'll stay," he muttered, cursing under his breath.

By his side, there were some sounds of shuffling, then Haibara's voice floated towards him. "Ah, I see how it is. So you won't listen to me, but you'll listen to Kuroba-kun, won't you?" Despite her bitter-sounding words, her voice was triumphant.

Shinichi's head snapped up and he gawked at Haibara, who was holding his phone with a look of supreme satisfaction on her face. Damn her.

"So what?" grumbled Shinichi, shoving his face into the pillow. He had a feeling he knew what she was going to say –

"So obviously you love him."

Shinichi shoved even harder, barely suppressing a groan. Yep, his feeling had been right.

* * *

Shivering in the freezing December air, Shinichi pulled the door to the bar open and stepped inside, instantly assailed with the scent of alcohol and the sound of drunken laugher and music. He sighed with slight discomfort, scanning the tables quickly until he spotted Hakuba's blond hair in a corner.

He nearly sprinted over, dodging beer-toting patrons and skimpily clad girls until he was at the table. "Hey!" he yelped over the pulsing music, pushing a girl aside gently and sitting down at the table. "What the hell's going on?"

The table's occupants, Hakuba Saguru, Hattori Heiji, and Kuroba Kaito, all quite drunk and all quite glassy-eyed, stared at him uncomprehendingly.

Feeling somewhat annoyed, Shinichi repeated, "What's going _on_? Why did you guys call me out here?" He fished his phone out of his pocket and pointed at the text on the screen. "This _is _your number, isn't it?" He cast it a dubious glance. "Although… I'm not sure this is even Japanese anymore, considering the grammar…"

Hattori glanced over at Kaito, one corner of his mouth pulling up. "We called you because of _him_," the tanned detective smirked, motioning at Kaito.

Shinichi looked at the magician, swallowing hard as the man lifted his face to return Shinichi's gaze. Ever since he'd discovered that everyone seemed to think they were together, Shinichi had been seeing Kaito… er… differently.

Because before, obviously, he'd never thought that Kaito had the prettiest eyes he'd ever seen – indigo that faded into a soft shade of violet along the edges. He'd never thought that Kaito had perfect lips, colored a warm pink and thoroughly kissable. He'd never thought that the way Kaito's shirt clung to his surprisingly sculpted abdomen was extremely tantalizing or that the angle Kaito's jeans hung off his hips was rather alluring.

Or maybe he had. Shinichi couldn't really remember.

Tearing his gaze away from Kaito, Shinichi coughed, redirecting his attention at the two detectives across from him. "What's the problem?"

Hakuba and Hattori shared a sloppily furtive glance, once that didn't go unnoticed to Shinichi, before Hattori donned a sunny smile and turned to beam at Shinichi. "Y'see, Kudou, Hakuba and I are going on dates with Nakamori-chan and Kazuha now, so we don't have time to get Kuroba home," he slurred.

"You do. Despite that you appear to be completely hammered."

"Uh-huh. We called them… and they said they'd come get us… so… dates," explained Hakuba brokenly.

"So, then, why did you call _me_ out here if Nakamori-chan and Kazuha are coming to get you?" asked Shinichi exasperatedly.

Hattori waved a hand in his face. Shinichi resisted the urge to smack him.

"Because," the Osakan lectured, "it's your duty!"

"…What?"

"Your duty!" Hattori lamented. "Your duty as Kuroba's girl!"

"…How many drinks did you have?"

Ignoring the question, Hattori prattled on, "Y'know, because Kazuha's my girl, it's her job to come get me when I'm drunk. Aoko-chan's Hakuba's girl, so it's her job to come get him. And," he paused at this point to wag a finger at an appalled Shinichi, "since you're Kuroba's girl, it's your job to get him!"

The tanned detective sat back, pleased with himself.

Shinichi massaged his forehead. "First, Hattori, you're an idiot. A very drunk idiot. And second, even _if _Kaito and I were in a relationship, I wouldn't be his _girl_. I'd be his man."

"So you are in a relationship!" crowed a very excited female voice from behind him, and Shinichi turned to find Kazuha beaming at him. At her side, Aoko was doing the same.

"I said if –!"

"Aw, you're his man!" squealed Aoko heedlessly, hands clasped tightly. "That's so cute! Take care of Kaito, Shinichi-kun~!"

She then focused her attention on her boyfriend, who was staring at her like she was the best thing he'd ever seen. "Now. For you." Aoko's expression morphed into one of fond irritation. "Get up. We're leaving," she snapped.

"Aoko~!" sang Hakuba, and the girl only rolled her eyes as she hoisted him out of his seat.

"Now walk," she commanded, and Hakuba complied as best as he could.

"You idiot," muttered Kazuha as she surveyed Hattori, who was giggling rather uncharacteristically. Casting Shinichi a last smile, she grabbed her boyfriend by the shoulder and jerked him up mercilessly. Shinichi flinched, rubbing his own shoulder as Hattori yowled in pain.

"That's what you get!" Kazuha scolded, carting him off. "Going out with Hakuba-kun and Kuroba-kun and getting drunk," she muttered darkly, and Shinichi prayed fervently for his best friend's safety.

"Shin…ichi?"

Shinichi whirled back around to find Kaito watching him with sleepy eyes and a flushed face.

He blinked. "Hi."

"Are you taking me home?" Kaito asked, lifting his eyelids up to look at Shinichi more clearly. His eyes were intense with some sort of emotion – affection, or maybe even… lust.

Oh. Damn.

"Mmhm," Shinichi confirmed, raking back his hair. "C'mon, let's go." He grasped Kaito's upper arm loosely and pulled him to his feet.

Kaito followed him slowly, allowing himself to be yanked along by the detective.

The night air kissed their faces, and Shinichi breathed out hard. Glancing at the stumbling magician, he softly told him, "I parked over there." He motioned vaguely to his left, and Kaito only nodded.

Shinichi led Kaito to his car, carefully tucking him into the passenger's seat. He rounded the car and slid into the driver's seat, looking over at Kaito.

"You all right?" he asked as he started the car.

"Mm."

"I'll take that as a yes," Shinichi said.

They drove in silence, and Shinichi parked in front of Kaito's house within minutes. He peered at Kaito cautiously. "Are you still okay?"

"Mm," Kaito murmured, turning his luminous gaze on Shinichi. "Hey, Shinichi? Are you my girl?"

"I am _not _a girl," retorted Shinichi reflexively, biting his tongue once he realized that he hadn't denied it.

"So you're my man," grinned Kaito, and Shinichi started, realizing that Kaito was, apparently, not drunk. In the least.

"You're not drunk," Shinichi accused, narrowing his eyes.

"I was actually supposed to be the designated driver, so I didn't drink. I don't think Hattori or Hakuba noticed, judging by the way they called you to get me home," Kaito laughed. "They seem to think that you're 'my girl.'"

"A lot of people do," growled Shinichi, exhaling.

The magician hummed. "Do they, now?"

"Yes. Haven't you been getting it?" Shinichi exclaimed. "Ran, the Detective Boys, Hakuba, Hattori, Haibara, even the people at _Poirot_ – they've all insisted that we're in love!"

"Oh. I've been getting that too. From Aoko, Akako, Keiko, Inspector Nakamori, my mom." Kaito shrugged. "They've been saying that we're a couple."

Shinichi stared at him blankly. "And that doesn't bother you? People saying that we're in love?"

Kaito angled Shinichi a look that made the detective's heart stop. "Aren't we?"

"Wh–?!" Shinichi was cut off by the presence of Kaito's lips against his, and he choked, eyes flying open.

He _really _wanted to put up some kind of fight, except kissing Kaito was kind of amazing – the press of those soft lips, the warmth of the mouth behind them, comforting and – and – indescribably perfect.

Shinichi was vaguely conscious of Kaito pulled back, but he was in a haze.

Kaito was staring at him, face pink and slightly out of breath. His eyes were dark and the slightest bit dazed, and his lips were parted just a whisper.

Damn.

"Uh – yes, I suppose we are," Shinichi murmured lowly, suddenly very aware that Kaito was straddling him.

Kaito flashed a grin and leaned forward. "I thought so," he breathed against Shinichi's lips.

In the small part of his mind that wasn't occupied with Kaito, Shinichi realized he was going to face a lot of _I told you so_'s.

* * *

**Yeah, that was just kind of... I... yeah, I don't know.**

**Too lazy/tired/dying to write long author's notes today. Sigh. I'm going to bed now. Drop me a review, k?**

**Love you! Till we meet again! - Luna**


End file.
